MANSEHRA: A team of law-enforcement agencies and Islamabad police have arrested former MNAs of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf AIi Nawaz Awan and Malik Aamir Dogar along with their two hosts in Battal area here early on Thursday.

The arrests came during a raid on the house of chairman of the Battal neighbourhood council and PTI leader Hizbullah.

The law-enforcement agencies later took the former lawmakers and their hosts, including Hezbollah and his cousin Zaheer Khan away. Their whereabouts weren’t known.

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The local police kept mum about the arrests.

Mr Awan, the PTI’s central additional secretary general, was elected MNA from Islamabad and Mr Dogar from Multan city.

Law-enforcement agencies also take hosts of Awan, Dogar into custody

They both went into hiding after law-enforcement agencies began a crackdown on PTI leaders and activists after the May 9-10 attacks on military and government installations across the country.

Meanwhile, the PTI resented arrests declaring them illegal.

Former PTI information secretary in Hazara division Ajmal Khan Swati told Dawn that the “illegal” crackdown on his party should come to an end.

He said as the PTI leaders, including former lawmakers, had begun coming out of hiding after the announcement of election schedule, the law-enforcement agencies were taking them into custody.

“These arrests should stop immediately,” he said.

The PTI leader said his party wanted a level-playing field to participate in general elections just like the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party, JUI-F and others in the country.

He complained that the police didn’t allow the PTI to hold a workers’ convention here and ransacked the venue despite the court’s orders for the government to allow it to carry out political activities, including canvassing.

“Police committed contempt of court by blocking our workers’ convention despite the Peshawar High Court’s permission,” he said.

EXPLOSIVES SEIZED: The Upper Kohistan police on Thursday arrested a man after seizing over eight kilogrammes of explosives.

The arrest came on a tip-off as a police team led by SHO of Sazin police station Saifur Rehman intercepted the vehicle driven by Mohammad Imran and found explosives.

The police claimed that the explosives were being shifted out of district headquarters Dasu.

Meanwhile, the Peshawar Electric Supply Company has begun replacing old power transmission lines, wires and pylons in Oghi town and its suburbs.

The development comes after the intervention of assistant commissioner Saleem Khan, according to former tehsil councillor Akbar Hussain.

He told reporters that power transmission lines, wires and pylons in the area were installed almost 50 years ago, so they’re causing power tripping, fluctuation and low voltage issues.

Mr Hussain said the power system overhaul would address those issues to the people’s relief.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2023